Leicestershire (includes Leicester & Nuneaton)Services
●Tourist Information Centre – 7-9 Every Street (Leicester, on Town Hall Square); 011-44-084-4888-5181; goleicestershire.com.Sights & Sites
●Battle of Bosworth Heritage Centre & Country Park – Sutton Cheney (Nuneaton, near Market Bosworth); 011-44-014-5529-0429; bosworthbattlefield.com; Battle of Bosworth (or Bosworth Field) was War of Roses’ last significant battle (civil war between Houses of Lancaster & York in 15th Century’s latter half); fought on August 22, 1485; Lancastrians won; their leader Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, by his victory became Tudor Dynasty’s 1st English monarch; his opponent, Richard III, House of York’s last king, killed in battle, marking Plantagenet dynasty’s end.
●Bow Bridge – #1 West Bridge (Leicester, A47); britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-188681-bow-bridge; dating from 1861, this bridge replaced earlier 1666 one, which in turn replaced much earlier one over which King Richard III crossed in 1485 on his way to Bosworth Field.
●Castle Park – Castle Motte (Leicester, west of city center, between Saint Nicholas Circle to north and De Montfort University to south); le.ac.uk/richardiii/history/leicestercastle.html; probably built around 1070; remains now consist of mound (motte), along with ruins; Great Hall used for Parliament sessions, most notably Parliament of Bats (1426).
●Guildhall Building – Guildhall Lane (Leicester); 011-44-011-6253-2569; leicester.gov.uk/your-council-services/lc/leicester-city-museums/museums/the-guildhall; timber-framed building; earliest part dates from 1390; was town hall until 1876; majority of building dates from 15th Century; located in old walled city; 1st used as Guild of Corpus Christi meeting hall.
●Jewry Hall – 156-160 St. Nicholas Circle (Leicester); 011-44-011-6225-4971; leicester.gov.uk/your-council-services/lc/leicester-city-museums/museums/jewry-wall-museum.
●Leicester Cathedral – 21 St. Martin’s (Leicester); 011-44-011-6261-5200; cathedral.leicester.anglican.org.
●Greyfriars Car Park – New Street (Leicester, at Friars Lane); le.ac.uk/richardiii; where archaeologists dug up Richard III’s 500-year-old bones.

Lincolnshire (includes Boston, Dunston, Gainsborough, Grantham, Lincoln, Scunthorpe, Snarford & Stamford)Hotels
●White Hart Hotel – 87 Ballgate (Lincoln, across from Cathedral close); 011-44-015-2252-6222; whitehart-lincoln.co.uk; charming; has parking.
●Winteringham Fields – 1 Silver Street (Scunthorpe); 011-44-017-2473-3096; winteringhamfields.co.uk; characterful 16th Century house with comfortable, antique-furnished bedrooms (those in cottage are most stylish).Restaurants
●Jews House – 15 Strait (Lincoln); 011-44-015-2252-4851; jewshouserestaurant.co.uk; city’s best restaurant; housed in city’s most picturesque and oldest building.
●White Hart Hotel – 87 Ballgate (Lincoln, across from Cathedral close); 011-44-015-2252-6222; acceptable food but Jews House is better.
●Wig & Mitre – 30 Steep Hill (Lincoln); 011-44-015-2253-5190; wigandmitre.com; Victorian, pub-style restaurant that features traditional pub fare like braised beef and roast wood pigeon.
●Winteringham Fields – 1 Silver Street (Scunthorpe); 011-44-017-2473-3096; winteringhamfields.co.uk; characterful 16th Century house with elegant dining room & several private rooms; complex, modern cooking, offering set price or tasting menu at lunch & daily “Menu Surprise” of up to 10 courses at dinner; much of produce is from their small holding.Sights & Sites
●Boston Guildhall – South Street (Boston); 011-44-012-0536-5954; bostonguildhall.co.uk.
●Burghley House – 61 St. Martins (Stamford); 011-44-017-8075-2451; burghley.co.uk; built and mostly designed by William Cecil, Lord High Treasurer to Queen Elizabeth I, between 1555-87 CE; 35 major rooms on ground and 1st floors; more than 80 lesser rooms and numerous halls, corridors, bathrooms, and service areas; lead roof extends to 3/4th acre; restoration and rebuilding began in 1983 and took nearly 10 years to complete; visitor facilities include Orangery Restaurant, Gift Shop, Gardens of Surprise, and beautiful walks around historic parkland laid out by Capability Brown and still occupied by herd of fallow deer.
●Culverthorpe Hall Walk – Dunston to Grantham (begin at “Stepping Out” car park, Dunston Fen Lane [signposted off B1188 at Dunston]); walkingbritain.co.uk/walks/walks/walk_b/2312; short walk (4 miles) explores Culverthorpe Hall parkland and surroundings, using local and “Stepping Out” paths; Culverthorpe estate has grand façade and outbuildings, own farm, landscaped parkland, lakes, mature trees and far-reaching vistas; Culverthorpe Village in Domesday Book; Culverthorpe Hall is 17-18th Century (begun about 1680 by Sir John Newton, Isaac Newton’s cousin & Grantham MP); Sir John built middle section described as “French chateau”-like; original house extended by Sir John’s descendant, Sir Michael and his wife Countess Coningsby around 1730 (tragedy struck when their 3-year old Viscount son killed by pet monkey throwing him over their London home’s balcony); as you enter “Stepping Out” car park, look for exit at back, lefthand corner; go here & turn right across causeway between 2 lakes and at far shore turn right through gate onto fenced, lakeside path; at far end (at path junction), turn right across lake dam to reach road; on opposite side, just to left, is footpath sign pointing along farm track; follow for about .5 mile until reach another lane where turn left for “short” mile; at (another) “Stepping Out” path on left (clearly marked as it zig-zags downhill into shallow valley and crosses North Beck); take it; beyond this, make final left turn and begin to head back to Culverthorpe (total of 4 left & 3 right turns involved in this section); on reaching road near Culverthorpe, turn right into village and then left at 1st junction; keep ahead through imposing gateway to enter park surrounding hall (if you wish to see rebuilt chapel, however, 1st walk few yards along lane to right); continue along estate road to pass in front of hall itself and then bear left to go downhill back to lakes and causeway; retrace outward route back to start.
●Gainsborough Old Hall – Parnell Street (Gainsborough); 011-44-014-2761-2669; gainsborougholdhall.co.uk; over 500 years old; among England’s best preserved medieval manor houses; built by Sir Thomas Burgh in 1460, who also founded Chantry and Alms House (Gainsborough); in 1484 Sir Thomas entertained King Richard III in hall; in 1510, Sir Thomas Burgh’s son, Edward Burgh, 2nd Baron Burgh, incarcerated at Hall upon being declared lunatic; Sir Edward died in 1528, leaving hall to eldest son, Sir Thomas; in 1529, this son’s heir, Sir Edward, married Catherine Parr, later Queen consort to King Henry VIII; Henry VIII visited Gainsborough twice; once in 1509 and again in 1541 with doomed Queen Catherine Howard (later accused of indiscretions both at Gainsborough and Lincoln); Hall sold in 1596 to William Hickman; he and his mother Rose supported John Smyth and Pilgrim Separatist movement, allowing them to meet and worship at hall until they sailed to Holland; John Wesley preached at hall several times in 1759.
●Lincoln Cathedral – Minster Yard (Lincoln); 011-44-015-2256-1600; lincolncathedral.com; John Ruskin called this England’s “most precious” architectural example; portions Da Vinci Code filmed here.
●St. Botolph’s Church – Wormgate (Boston); 011-44-012-0536-2864 or 011-44-012-0535-4670; parish-of-boston.org.uk; lovely.
●St. Lawrence Church – Market Rasen (Snarford, just north of A46); built between 12th and 16th Centuries; filled, unexpectedly, with extravagant alabaster statuary.